20/4/2015 Omorate to Mission Todonyang
D59, T5, Av10.96, Max26, 40,146, 5,197
Fine day. Very hot and humid
We were up early to get to the administration, as they opened, to get this so called document to use the bridge. We got there at 0800 or 0200 Ethiopian time.
We waited for an hour and a half. I went outside to repair something on the bike. A guy was spoken to about this bridge business. He told me the boss of police was around the other side of the building I went to see him and explained the situation. He made a phone call and got on his moto. He said follow. I grabbed Pedro who was still waiting outside the office inside.
We were slow, as we road towards the bridge he was coming back and waved us to go on.
At the bridge the guy was highly annoyed. He had been told by his superior to let us pass.
We even had to move the barriers, he did not want to.
His side kick in civies come up to us and asked for money, we told him we had no Birr.
It felt like being let out of prison going over the bridge. We never looked back. Once over I said to Pedro, let’s just get out of here before we arrange our gear in case they change their minds.
The road was just an alluvial track. Even the slightest rain would have turned it into a glue like mud.
We rode hard and fast.
There were villages all along the way. The soil was rich and deep, corn was growing.
The road however went through wet patches that were pure mud. Any more rain and we would have been spending a night out here. We road close to the ever eroding sandy faces of the river bank.
The alluvial area was soon left behind. This turned into a crusty type of snady, luckily made firm by the recent rains. The landscape was huge. It was open to the east north and south. To our west was South Sudan.
It was a treeless desert. A vehicle passed us and luckily broke the crust, I was ahead and purposely rode where the vehicle wheels had broken the crust, this made life a bit easier.
Herdsmen were seen off in the distance. A shimmery mirage was seen amongst some isolated trees way off in the distance. They looked like they were growing in water.
It was this kind of landscape to our sth west were blue ranges and to our east somewhere in the vastness was Lake Turkana, whose principle water source is from the Omo river in Ethiopia.
Off in the distance we coud see a hillock, here was the last military outpost of Ethiopia, reaching here they checked our passports and told us to move on.
Goodbye Ethiopia.
Soon we came upon the military camp t the Kenyan border. It was nothing more thn a lean to with a roof and a couple of seats. The guys were so friendly, we spend over an hour just talking and laughing .
It was great to be talking in English with people who could understand fast normal conversation. They gave us a great welcome to Kenya.
I was reasonably distressed having still to cope with this diarrhea, here a wlk was taken out into the landscape to relieve myself once again at an odd hour. There were no trees to hide behind out here.
Off in the distance we could see the mission at Todenyang. It was still hard riding across the loose sand. There were only drought tolerant plants growing, these were not much taller than ankle height.
On arrival at this large enclosure, we were greeted by a cople of Kenyans. They said it was fine to camp there.
We set up near the shores of Tukana under shelters where permanent tents were standing.
They view to the Lake was impressive.
This lake is infested with crocodiles but rich in fish. One needs a boat to safely fish its shores. We bought a melon off the staff, they had Israeli people there instructing them how to irrigate with fertilizers.
We ate little for dinner and were in bed very early after a bucket shower.
21/4/2015 Mission Todonyang to Mission Lowarengak
D21, T2.33, Av8.29, Max16, 40,161, 5,100
Fine day, very hot and humid.
The night had been unbelievably hot and sticky again. I was up at 0100 with my diahrea. This has now been going on for almost a month on and off.
The leftover of my watermelon was finished off and porridge was enjoyed. Eating is the most important thing. Forcing myself to eat has to be done. I took a lomotil. Anyway within half and hour my whole breakfast was passed.
I still felt ok however. We got away about 0930. A thorn had punctured my rear tyre so this had to be repaired.
We thanked the people at the mission.
This place was a big complex with thousands of dollars of gear just sitting around dterioating in the weather.
There was a D6 dozer, quite new, just rotting in the weather. The Catholic church have plenty so I guess it it is no problem. There were tents set up under thatched roof areas, the roofs were falling apart and the heavy canvas safari tents were also in need of some maintenance.
Everyone at the mission was Kenyan and most were of Turkana origins. There were crop growing facitilities, gots grazing and ad elaborate chook house. Two girls from Lodwar were here teaching for a year. The pupils come from the waring tribes. It is a nice way to possibly help future generations find some peace. The fighting is all over pasture and grazing areas. Many people actually get killed.
One on the road of sorts, well it was really a sandy track, we soon got amongst loose sand, riding became difficult.
Things further deteriorated, we had to push the bikes for stretches in lower areas. We could see the lake on our right. The terrain was just flat and featurelss except in the distance to the west where there were blue shaded ranges.
Some Sudanese border control troops came past in a couple of trucks they offered us tides to Nairobi. Tempting but no!.
Wild camel herds were seen, as were herdsmen in the distance. Now and again one with his goats would cross up ahead in the distance.
Acacias were scattered across the landscape. Where the track passed through a stand of these, the going got difficult. The rain could not penetrate the sand and the trees had sucked all the water from it. Consequently it wasa pushing job. We are carrying lots of water. I carry my 6L bladder, a 2l bottle, a 1.5L pus my 2 drink bottles. We were both dropping our bikes on many occasions.
It is best to just let them fall, fighting it is just a wate of energy.
In the dry season, there are dust storms out here and water is very important. Pedro and I are late coming through here. We have beemn lucky with a weather window and the sand has some moisture. It would be very loose and dry after 5 months without rain.
Oliver said to take alot of water. This we have done but never really used it all. Though, it is so nice to know we have plenty to spare.
We stopped for lunch in a dry riverbed under a shady stand of Acacias. I was weak and needed to eat badly.
Pedro had cold pasta. I had a High Country Dehy curried beef, a bread roll with onion and tomato plus a cup of chocolate and coffee. Prior to this I had taked a gel.
We had a group of kids join us for lunch. It is school holidays nows, they had been fishing but with no luck.
The children here are well mannered and show respect. They Speak Swahili, Turkana and some English.
From here the road improved a bit. We passed two guys, with a string of large fish caught in the lake.
Soon we arrived at the village, not before I had to stop and promptly dumped everything I had for lunch, what a waste.
I was now very weak.
In the village we were taken to the mission they said we could camp the night.
I was feeling a little delirious and drank two bottles of warm sprite.
We were shown our building that we could use. All I could do was set up my tent climb in it and feel asleep.
This diahrea has been going on to long. So it was decided to take a dose of Secnidizol which kills parasites. I had this problem in Peru.
I ate noodles and soy meat later in the afternoon, then later had pasta and onions with tomatoes, all was held down.
The night was so humid and sticky. In my tent I was just soaking and needed a hand towel just to keep dry.
Mosquitos were not about, the locals said the malaria species are not present here.
We slept inside our tents anyway.
This village has no power, the people live in dome huts made of anything they can find. They are in groups bounded by dry thorny branches as fences.
I went across to the main area of the mission to get some drinking water. All the ground water in this area is saline. The water has to be trucked in. Earlier in the day a huge convey of semis and other trucks went through the village. They are oil explorers.
22/4/2015 Mission Todonyang to Mission Nariokotome
D33, T3.28, Av9.41, Max28, 40,194, 5,133
Heavy morning rain, cleared about 1000
The night had been like sleeping in a sauna. At least there was no need to get up and go to the toilet in the middle of the night.
Early in the morning rain had come down and continued to do so till about 0930.
We decided not to move till we were sure it had passed.
We managed to find some Chapati to buy. This is the local staple, like a fried very thin pancake.
Leaving town things were still very wet. We went over to thank the father and top up on water.
The road now was sand mixed with gravel so the surface was much better. We crossed a number of creek beds that had carried water earlier in the morning.
The lake could often be seen off in the distance. Everything else was so dry and the moat common tree was the Acacia. There were many small clusters of the Clans, the small circular huts that the turkana people live in.
People were seen most of the way, though not in large numbers. Most were moving or tending to goats and sheep.
Two small creeks needed to be crossed. This was done by me only removing my front panniers and wheeling the bike through the calf deep water.
People were also moving along the road on motorbikes, few vehicles were seen. Coming to the Nariokotome river it was easy to see why. The riverbed was holding 3 streams of turbulent water. The flow on the far shore was especially dangerous.
We had no choice but to wait here till the flow subsided.
All these river beds begin to carry water if it has fallen in the ranges to our east. Whilst waiting a Hilux pulled up. Matt was driving the vehicle with a couple of Kenyan guys with him. They were from an Irish Oil company we talked for an hour.
They decided not to try and cross.
We waited for another half hour, some locals began crossing, the water was only knee deep now.
For me it took 5 trips across the brown waters. Carrying my bar bag with phone and other electrics is always a problem. Slipping cannot be afforded.
There were some large rocks under the surface, these could not be seen. Extra caution had to be taken when placing our next step.
Once across, we set off again. Just up from the creek bed was a monument to the Turkana Boy. One of the oldest humanoid skeletons ever found. It is believed to be between 1.5 and 1.6 million years old. We had a quick look here, but some locals wanted us to pay to take photos. We did not stay long.
Riding on, unbeknown to us we missed the turn off to the mission. The low spots in the road still carried water and at times we had to walk.
Asking some truck drivers a few km on we found that the turnoff to the mission was back a way.
We were both worn out and had to ride the 3km back and the 3km off the main road to the mission.
It was a huge compound with many buildings and large water tanks on stands. There was a large church constructed from local rock in the middle of the complex. Many buildings were in need of some repair.
Here we meet with Father Antonio, a Spanish clergyman, he was was very casual and likeable guy.
We were taken to a little house with a kitchen and a couple of bedrooms with beds. This was fantastic.
We showered and ate. They had a generator going till 2300.
We put our mosquito nets up which is now standard practice when in hotels. Many supply them but often they are riddled with holes.
My back is still quite sore from pushing and falling off the bike over the last few days.
The air was a bit cooler here and a lovely breeze was coming off the lake. Sleep came rapidly.
23/4/2015 Mission Nariokotome to Kataboy village and mission
D51, T5, Av11.92, Max34, 40,245, 5,184
Fine, very hot and humid
The staff kindly bought us over breakfast in the morning. It was simple but great. Bread, jam, and tea in a flask. We headed over to thank father Antonio.
We also bought some fuel from him, a small donation was also given.
One which he said was not necessary.
It was an easy ride back to the main, if you could call it that.
Things had dried out a little, a truck that was being repaired last evening was still on the side of the track with the men working on it.
There were small clusters of clans in places as we rode. These are the huts the turkana people make from the fronds of the Doum palm, Hyphaene compressa.
Herds of goats and sheep were always seen and on looking carefully their owner was some where to be seen. Often under a nearby Acacia tree in the shade. The shops in the small villages sold very little and none had electricity so cold drinks were out.
They sold little packs of glucose which I bought to add to my drink bottle.
I have been reluctantly taking Ibupofen to ease my back pain.
Having to walk around one area of deep puddles on the road, Pedro picked up a flat tyre. He repaired this us a tree. We had a bit of an audience but nothing like in Ethiopia. The people are quite and do not push to get closer and are not always touching our gear. It is such a relief from the need to be always vigilant.
The huge mass of Lake Turkana could be seen at the end of the water course we were on. Some older Turkana men were repairing nets on the sand .
Riding on some few km pedro got another flat tyre.
I fell asleep under a tree whilst he fixed it. Some Turkana women were sitting under another nearby tree. With them, they had bundles of Doum palm fronds.
The clusters of Clans were becoming more common. The only things of any interest in the shops were the packets of glucose and little packs of biscuits.
Most sold the staple beans and a few other dry grains.
On arrival in Kataboy we were guided to the mission, here father Bruno welcomed us and allowed us to set the tents up inside the verandha.
I am at a real loss without my stove and ended up using Pedros just to boil some water to put in a high Country dehy pack.
I always carry 5 of these for emergencies. I have now used them all. The mission uses only solar power and we could not charge our phones. A bucket shower was taken. Again I tried in vane to remove the inner cable from my stove fuel line with no success.
We slept inside our mesh inners of the tents. These make the best mosquito screens.
24/4/2015 Kataboy village and mission to Kalokol
D30, T3, Av11.39, Max25, 40,276, 5,244
Fine, very hot and humid
Father Bruno and I once again tried to pull the cable out of my stove fuel line. It had been soaked in CRC all night. There was no way the two of us could budge it. I resigned myself to the fact that it was no longer usable.
I will need a replacement. After nearly three and a half years of use, sometimes 4 times a day, often using dirty fuel, it has served me well.
Pedro left ahead of me as I had gear scattered everywhere and needed to repack slowly.
This section of road was at least firm enough to ride the whole way. The scary thing about it was that for much of the way we were in these dry riverbeds.
Any rain would have seen the road unpassable for miles.
Each day we are taking about 6-8 litres of water with us. Early in the day little is used. Once the heat settles in, it is amazing just how much water can be drunk in a short time.
The road to Kalakol was getting a bit better with actual road base laid down, though there were large rocks half buried in many places which made for a very bumpy uncomfortable ride. In places corrugations were bad.
Turkana people were present along its length, looking after their animals. We stopped for lunch under a shady group of trees in a river bed. A group of kids joined us. They just sat in a line and watched us eat. They spoke and lughed at a few comments. Their understanding of English was poor. They spoke Swahili.
Another two guys were seen carrying fresh fish to Kalokol which was now only 2km away.
Before arriving in the town, there was a dry riverbed where dozens of people were digging in the sand to retrieve water some 1 metre down .
They were scooping this out into the drums and carting them mostly on the very sturdy Neelam bicycles that are made in Kenya. Some guys had 7 20L drums full of water on these workhorses, many of which had solid rubber tyres.
They have double cross bars and front fork supports. People are often seen carrying huge loads of firewood on these bikes.
On arrival in town it was great to be in our first town that resembled civilisation as we know it.
There were still no power lines. The town used individual generators.
A cold coke was found. I don’t like to admit it but it was so so good. We ate mangoes, oranges and bananas, they all tasted just as good.
The town was a busy place with a great market. There was a fish market of sorts here also. The dried fish sold in bales of 5000 pieces were sold to buyers from the Congo.
Many of whom were here to buy the fish from lake Turkana.
I bought 6 smoked fish for the ride tomorrow to Lodwar.
We ate at the restaurant of our hotel. Goat was the meat. Goats were tied up outside our rooms in the courtyard. These were slowly disappearing as the evening drew closer.
Pedro and I both finally got sim cards for our phones so it was great to be back online again. The internet here like everywhere for the last few months has been slow and not consistent.
The middle of the night is best. It suits me because it is daytime back in Australia.
This town is a place where the Turkana come for supplies, there are sheep and goats just freely roaming around the streets. Goats are real opportuninists some were seen eating cardboard and other seen separating food from plastic bags. The sheep are almost as well adapted to scavenging.
Once again in our hotel we had to use our own mosquito nets, those supplied were full of holes.
The locals said malaria is not such a huge problem here but no risks are being taken. I am going to use Coartem should I get the symptoms of malaria. Taking preventative malaria medicine for 3 months does not appeal to me.
At dark the staff started up the generator, this roared until some late hour, this coupled with goats tethered close to the few trees in the yard, crying were the sounds that put me to sleep.
From here the asphalt starts.
25/4/2015 Kalokol to Lodwar
D62, T5, Av13.73, Max41, 40,337, 5,304
Fine, very hot and humid
Both of us had slept well, yesterday, fresh sliced bread was bought, what a treat. Tomatoes and onions were also purchased to make sandwiches with the smoked fish.
As said the asphalt started, a better description of the road would be gravel with some smooth patches. It was the worst kind of surface to ride on, as the meeting point of gravel and asphalt was a sharp step up or down. It was better in many instances just to ride on the gravel edges.
A few taxis were seen, lots of guys close to town on their Neelams and a few Turkana herders. We soon got into foothills. Here the country was like a mmonscape with a few trees. It was incredibly fry and rocky. No one was grazing animal out here. The heat saw to that. This crossing of the range went on fro a couple of hours. We then descended back onto the flats.
Bags of charcoal had been seen on the roadside in the hills where local had them out for sale.
The asphalt here in places was almost complete but did not stay that way fro long. More cyclists were seen carting enormous loads of wood on their bikes. This indicated we were getting close to town.
Pedro had arranged a warmshowers host in town so we met a friend of theirs at the local jicue bar on the way into town.
Before they arrived copius cold drinks were enjoyec and a chilled piece of watermelon. For the first time we saw powerlines in Kenya.
Even though Lodwar had more than 50,000 residents it is still only powered by a generator.
It was quite a ride out to Rhdas house outside of the main town. Earlier in the day we had met john her husband on the road. He was on hisy to do some missionary work up north on his Yamaha 175 trail bike .
At Rhodas place we set up the tents in her large clean sandy private yard.
She cooked us a great evening meal over charcoal. We both climbed into our tents.
We had made it to Lodwar during the short wet season of the year in Kenya. We had been incredibly lucky to make it from Omarate without being held up by rain. Had it come we could have been stuck there for days and even then struggle with wet muddy roads.
All this way a great relief.
25-30/4/2015 Lodwar, Nthn Kenya.
Africana Hotel
After two nights I moved to the Africana hotel, my back was still sore. I needed to be in a bed off the ground.
Lodwar is the capital of Turkana country. Many tribes people are seen in town wandering about buying things or just chatting on corners.
The town has a nice feel about it and people are very friendly. Most clothing I own was washed in the ample water available at the hotel.
My room is tiny but has a ceiling fanwhich is sheer luxury. Lodwar is in a rain shadow and only gets 250mm or so of rain a year. It is very hot and dusty.
Whilst here a stove was made from two Coke cans, it uses alcohol. It will get me to Nairobi I hope.
New parts have been ordered from Australia.
John Weir from The Mountain and Adventure Centre in Jindabyne has been such a huge help to me. If you need any high tech camping gear in Australia check these guys out on +61 2 6456 2922 or MountainAdventureCentre.com.au.
They are Hilleberg Tent dealers also.
Thanks again John.
The showers in the hotel are bucket versions where one has to fill a large plastic bowl with water, carry it to the showers. I use a water bottle cut in half to bail the water and pour it over myself.
I am quite used to this way of showering now. It is a great way to not waste water. I leave the shower every bit as clean as having had a shower with a tap that might use 50 to 100 litres.
We waste so much water at home.
Getting used to the unhygienic conditions here in Africa takes awhile to get used to.
Importantly for me, I am exposed to all manner of germs and bacteria and my health is great apart from the diarrhea that has now gone.
I now have the antibodies to fight most things that are found in these dirty places, which is important for long-term travel.
Central to this is drinking local water and not buying bottled water.
Firstly with the amount of water I drink it would send me broke and secondly if bottled water is drunk, everytime you drink local water there is a chance you may get sick.
“If the locals drink it, so do I”.
The road from here to Lokichar is more of the broken asphalt.
South of here the Pokot people are notorious for attacking vehicles heading to Kitale.
They attack trucks often shooting as they do it. Matt from Tullow told me one of his contractors got shot earlier in the week on this road.
Due to my back and the inherent risks from banditry on the road, a Landcriser has been booked to take me all the way to Kitale. For 2500 shillings, it is good value.
It is a dual cab with only four passengers, my bike will go in the tray at the rear.
Pedro has chosen to take an 8 seater, his bike will be stowed on the roof. It is 2000 shillings.
Again got is the main meat eaten here. Mangos are great value at 7c each, so many have been consumed.
Most restaurants use charcoal to cook on. A clothing iron using charcoal to heat it was seen on more than one occasion.
Acacia trees are the chosen species to make the charcoal which burns incredibly hot.
All through Egypt, Sudan and Ethiopia honey was used to sweeten my tea and other drinks. Here it is to expensive to use as a sweetener. So brown sugar is being used.
From here Pedro and I go our separate ways. He is heading to Uganda from Kitale and not going to Nairobi.
My two sons Ben and Callum, fly into Nairobi on the 22nd May.
Together we are going to ride to Cape Town over the next 6 or 7 months.
This is going to be a very special thing for us guys to be doing.
They are bringing over a heap of supplies for me.
A new rear wheel, new tent, replacement stove parts to mention just a few. It is so much easier than trying to source these things here.
D59, T5, Av10.96, Max26, 40,146, 5,197
Fine day. Very hot and humid
We were up early to get to the administration, as they opened, to get this so called document to use the bridge. We got there at 0800 or 0200 Ethiopian time.
We waited for an hour and a half. I went outside to repair something on the bike. A guy was spoken to about this bridge business. He told me the boss of police was around the other side of the building I went to see him and explained the situation. He made a phone call and got on his moto. He said follow. I grabbed Pedro who was still waiting outside the office inside.
We were slow, as we road towards the bridge he was coming back and waved us to go on.
At the bridge the guy was highly annoyed. He had been told by his superior to let us pass.
We even had to move the barriers, he did not want to.
His side kick in civies come up to us and asked for money, we told him we had no Birr.
It felt like being let out of prison going over the bridge. We never looked back. Once over I said to Pedro, let’s just get out of here before we arrange our gear in case they change their minds.
The road was just an alluvial track. Even the slightest rain would have turned it into a glue like mud.
We rode hard and fast.
There were villages all along the way. The soil was rich and deep, corn was growing.
The road however went through wet patches that were pure mud. Any more rain and we would have been spending a night out here. We road close to the ever eroding sandy faces of the river bank.
The alluvial area was soon left behind. This turned into a crusty type of snady, luckily made firm by the recent rains. The landscape was huge. It was open to the east north and south. To our west was South Sudan.
It was a treeless desert. A vehicle passed us and luckily broke the crust, I was ahead and purposely rode where the vehicle wheels had broken the crust, this made life a bit easier.
Herdsmen were seen off in the distance. A shimmery mirage was seen amongst some isolated trees way off in the distance. They looked like they were growing in water.
It was this kind of landscape to our sth west were blue ranges and to our east somewhere in the vastness was Lake Turkana, whose principle water source is from the Omo river in Ethiopia.
Off in the distance we coud see a hillock, here was the last military outpost of Ethiopia, reaching here they checked our passports and told us to move on.
Goodbye Ethiopia.
Soon we came upon the military camp t the Kenyan border. It was nothing more thn a lean to with a roof and a couple of seats. The guys were so friendly, we spend over an hour just talking and laughing .
It was great to be talking in English with people who could understand fast normal conversation. They gave us a great welcome to Kenya.
I was reasonably distressed having still to cope with this diarrhea, here a wlk was taken out into the landscape to relieve myself once again at an odd hour. There were no trees to hide behind out here.
Off in the distance we could see the mission at Todenyang. It was still hard riding across the loose sand. There were only drought tolerant plants growing, these were not much taller than ankle height.
On arrival at this large enclosure, we were greeted by a cople of Kenyans. They said it was fine to camp there.
We set up near the shores of Tukana under shelters where permanent tents were standing.
They view to the Lake was impressive.
This lake is infested with crocodiles but rich in fish. One needs a boat to safely fish its shores. We bought a melon off the staff, they had Israeli people there instructing them how to irrigate with fertilizers.
We ate little for dinner and were in bed very early after a bucket shower.
21/4/2015 Mission Todonyang to Mission Lowarengak
D21, T2.33, Av8.29, Max16, 40,161, 5,100
Fine day, very hot and humid.
The night had been unbelievably hot and sticky again. I was up at 0100 with my diahrea. This has now been going on for almost a month on and off.
The leftover of my watermelon was finished off and porridge was enjoyed. Eating is the most important thing. Forcing myself to eat has to be done. I took a lomotil. Anyway within half and hour my whole breakfast was passed.
I still felt ok however. We got away about 0930. A thorn had punctured my rear tyre so this had to be repaired.
We thanked the people at the mission.
This place was a big complex with thousands of dollars of gear just sitting around dterioating in the weather.
There was a D6 dozer, quite new, just rotting in the weather. The Catholic church have plenty so I guess it it is no problem. There were tents set up under thatched roof areas, the roofs were falling apart and the heavy canvas safari tents were also in need of some maintenance.
Everyone at the mission was Kenyan and most were of Turkana origins. There were crop growing facitilities, gots grazing and ad elaborate chook house. Two girls from Lodwar were here teaching for a year. The pupils come from the waring tribes. It is a nice way to possibly help future generations find some peace. The fighting is all over pasture and grazing areas. Many people actually get killed.
One on the road of sorts, well it was really a sandy track, we soon got amongst loose sand, riding became difficult.
Things further deteriorated, we had to push the bikes for stretches in lower areas. We could see the lake on our right. The terrain was just flat and featurelss except in the distance to the west where there were blue shaded ranges.
Some Sudanese border control troops came past in a couple of trucks they offered us tides to Nairobi. Tempting but no!.
Wild camel herds were seen, as were herdsmen in the distance. Now and again one with his goats would cross up ahead in the distance.
Acacias were scattered across the landscape. Where the track passed through a stand of these, the going got difficult. The rain could not penetrate the sand and the trees had sucked all the water from it. Consequently it wasa pushing job. We are carrying lots of water. I carry my 6L bladder, a 2l bottle, a 1.5L pus my 2 drink bottles. We were both dropping our bikes on many occasions.
It is best to just let them fall, fighting it is just a wate of energy.
In the dry season, there are dust storms out here and water is very important. Pedro and I are late coming through here. We have beemn lucky with a weather window and the sand has some moisture. It would be very loose and dry after 5 months without rain.
Oliver said to take alot of water. This we have done but never really used it all. Though, it is so nice to know we have plenty to spare.
We stopped for lunch in a dry riverbed under a shady stand of Acacias. I was weak and needed to eat badly.
Pedro had cold pasta. I had a High Country Dehy curried beef, a bread roll with onion and tomato plus a cup of chocolate and coffee. Prior to this I had taked a gel.
We had a group of kids join us for lunch. It is school holidays nows, they had been fishing but with no luck.
The children here are well mannered and show respect. They Speak Swahili, Turkana and some English.
From here the road improved a bit. We passed two guys, with a string of large fish caught in the lake.
Soon we arrived at the village, not before I had to stop and promptly dumped everything I had for lunch, what a waste.
I was now very weak.
In the village we were taken to the mission they said we could camp the night.
I was feeling a little delirious and drank two bottles of warm sprite.
We were shown our building that we could use. All I could do was set up my tent climb in it and feel asleep.
This diahrea has been going on to long. So it was decided to take a dose of Secnidizol which kills parasites. I had this problem in Peru.
I ate noodles and soy meat later in the afternoon, then later had pasta and onions with tomatoes, all was held down.
The night was so humid and sticky. In my tent I was just soaking and needed a hand towel just to keep dry.
Mosquitos were not about, the locals said the malaria species are not present here.
We slept inside our tents anyway.
This village has no power, the people live in dome huts made of anything they can find. They are in groups bounded by dry thorny branches as fences.
I went across to the main area of the mission to get some drinking water. All the ground water in this area is saline. The water has to be trucked in. Earlier in the day a huge convey of semis and other trucks went through the village. They are oil explorers.
22/4/2015 Mission Todonyang to Mission Nariokotome
D33, T3.28, Av9.41, Max28, 40,194, 5,133
Heavy morning rain, cleared about 1000
The night had been like sleeping in a sauna. At least there was no need to get up and go to the toilet in the middle of the night.
Early in the morning rain had come down and continued to do so till about 0930.
We decided not to move till we were sure it had passed.
We managed to find some Chapati to buy. This is the local staple, like a fried very thin pancake.
Leaving town things were still very wet. We went over to thank the father and top up on water.
The road now was sand mixed with gravel so the surface was much better. We crossed a number of creek beds that had carried water earlier in the morning.
The lake could often be seen off in the distance. Everything else was so dry and the moat common tree was the Acacia. There were many small clusters of the Clans, the small circular huts that the turkana people live in.
People were seen most of the way, though not in large numbers. Most were moving or tending to goats and sheep.
Two small creeks needed to be crossed. This was done by me only removing my front panniers and wheeling the bike through the calf deep water.
People were also moving along the road on motorbikes, few vehicles were seen. Coming to the Nariokotome river it was easy to see why. The riverbed was holding 3 streams of turbulent water. The flow on the far shore was especially dangerous.
We had no choice but to wait here till the flow subsided.
All these river beds begin to carry water if it has fallen in the ranges to our east. Whilst waiting a Hilux pulled up. Matt was driving the vehicle with a couple of Kenyan guys with him. They were from an Irish Oil company we talked for an hour.
They decided not to try and cross.
We waited for another half hour, some locals began crossing, the water was only knee deep now.
For me it took 5 trips across the brown waters. Carrying my bar bag with phone and other electrics is always a problem. Slipping cannot be afforded.
There were some large rocks under the surface, these could not be seen. Extra caution had to be taken when placing our next step.
Once across, we set off again. Just up from the creek bed was a monument to the Turkana Boy. One of the oldest humanoid skeletons ever found. It is believed to be between 1.5 and 1.6 million years old. We had a quick look here, but some locals wanted us to pay to take photos. We did not stay long.
Riding on, unbeknown to us we missed the turn off to the mission. The low spots in the road still carried water and at times we had to walk.
Asking some truck drivers a few km on we found that the turnoff to the mission was back a way.
We were both worn out and had to ride the 3km back and the 3km off the main road to the mission.
It was a huge compound with many buildings and large water tanks on stands. There was a large church constructed from local rock in the middle of the complex. Many buildings were in need of some repair.
Here we meet with Father Antonio, a Spanish clergyman, he was was very casual and likeable guy.
We were taken to a little house with a kitchen and a couple of bedrooms with beds. This was fantastic.
We showered and ate. They had a generator going till 2300.
We put our mosquito nets up which is now standard practice when in hotels. Many supply them but often they are riddled with holes.
My back is still quite sore from pushing and falling off the bike over the last few days.
The air was a bit cooler here and a lovely breeze was coming off the lake. Sleep came rapidly.
23/4/2015 Mission Nariokotome to Kataboy village and mission
D51, T5, Av11.92, Max34, 40,245, 5,184
Fine, very hot and humid
The staff kindly bought us over breakfast in the morning. It was simple but great. Bread, jam, and tea in a flask. We headed over to thank father Antonio.
We also bought some fuel from him, a small donation was also given.
One which he said was not necessary.
It was an easy ride back to the main, if you could call it that.
Things had dried out a little, a truck that was being repaired last evening was still on the side of the track with the men working on it.
There were small clusters of clans in places as we rode. These are the huts the turkana people make from the fronds of the Doum palm, Hyphaene compressa.
Herds of goats and sheep were always seen and on looking carefully their owner was some where to be seen. Often under a nearby Acacia tree in the shade. The shops in the small villages sold very little and none had electricity so cold drinks were out.
They sold little packs of glucose which I bought to add to my drink bottle.
I have been reluctantly taking Ibupofen to ease my back pain.
Having to walk around one area of deep puddles on the road, Pedro picked up a flat tyre. He repaired this us a tree. We had a bit of an audience but nothing like in Ethiopia. The people are quite and do not push to get closer and are not always touching our gear. It is such a relief from the need to be always vigilant.
The huge mass of Lake Turkana could be seen at the end of the water course we were on. Some older Turkana men were repairing nets on the sand .
Riding on some few km pedro got another flat tyre.
I fell asleep under a tree whilst he fixed it. Some Turkana women were sitting under another nearby tree. With them, they had bundles of Doum palm fronds.
The clusters of Clans were becoming more common. The only things of any interest in the shops were the packets of glucose and little packs of biscuits.
Most sold the staple beans and a few other dry grains.
On arrival in Kataboy we were guided to the mission, here father Bruno welcomed us and allowed us to set the tents up inside the verandha.
I am at a real loss without my stove and ended up using Pedros just to boil some water to put in a high Country dehy pack.
I always carry 5 of these for emergencies. I have now used them all. The mission uses only solar power and we could not charge our phones. A bucket shower was taken. Again I tried in vane to remove the inner cable from my stove fuel line with no success.
We slept inside our mesh inners of the tents. These make the best mosquito screens.
24/4/2015 Kataboy village and mission to Kalokol
D30, T3, Av11.39, Max25, 40,276, 5,244
Fine, very hot and humid
Father Bruno and I once again tried to pull the cable out of my stove fuel line. It had been soaked in CRC all night. There was no way the two of us could budge it. I resigned myself to the fact that it was no longer usable.
I will need a replacement. After nearly three and a half years of use, sometimes 4 times a day, often using dirty fuel, it has served me well.
Pedro left ahead of me as I had gear scattered everywhere and needed to repack slowly.
This section of road was at least firm enough to ride the whole way. The scary thing about it was that for much of the way we were in these dry riverbeds.
Any rain would have seen the road unpassable for miles.
Each day we are taking about 6-8 litres of water with us. Early in the day little is used. Once the heat settles in, it is amazing just how much water can be drunk in a short time.
The road to Kalakol was getting a bit better with actual road base laid down, though there were large rocks half buried in many places which made for a very bumpy uncomfortable ride. In places corrugations were bad.
Turkana people were present along its length, looking after their animals. We stopped for lunch under a shady group of trees in a river bed. A group of kids joined us. They just sat in a line and watched us eat. They spoke and lughed at a few comments. Their understanding of English was poor. They spoke Swahili.
Another two guys were seen carrying fresh fish to Kalokol which was now only 2km away.
Before arriving in the town, there was a dry riverbed where dozens of people were digging in the sand to retrieve water some 1 metre down .
They were scooping this out into the drums and carting them mostly on the very sturdy Neelam bicycles that are made in Kenya. Some guys had 7 20L drums full of water on these workhorses, many of which had solid rubber tyres.
They have double cross bars and front fork supports. People are often seen carrying huge loads of firewood on these bikes.
On arrival in town it was great to be in our first town that resembled civilisation as we know it.
There were still no power lines. The town used individual generators.
A cold coke was found. I don’t like to admit it but it was so so good. We ate mangoes, oranges and bananas, they all tasted just as good.
The town was a busy place with a great market. There was a fish market of sorts here also. The dried fish sold in bales of 5000 pieces were sold to buyers from the Congo.
Many of whom were here to buy the fish from lake Turkana.
I bought 6 smoked fish for the ride tomorrow to Lodwar.
We ate at the restaurant of our hotel. Goat was the meat. Goats were tied up outside our rooms in the courtyard. These were slowly disappearing as the evening drew closer.
Pedro and I both finally got sim cards for our phones so it was great to be back online again. The internet here like everywhere for the last few months has been slow and not consistent.
The middle of the night is best. It suits me because it is daytime back in Australia.
This town is a place where the Turkana come for supplies, there are sheep and goats just freely roaming around the streets. Goats are real opportuninists some were seen eating cardboard and other seen separating food from plastic bags. The sheep are almost as well adapted to scavenging.
Once again in our hotel we had to use our own mosquito nets, those supplied were full of holes.
The locals said malaria is not such a huge problem here but no risks are being taken. I am going to use Coartem should I get the symptoms of malaria. Taking preventative malaria medicine for 3 months does not appeal to me.
At dark the staff started up the generator, this roared until some late hour, this coupled with goats tethered close to the few trees in the yard, crying were the sounds that put me to sleep.
From here the asphalt starts.
25/4/2015 Kalokol to Lodwar
D62, T5, Av13.73, Max41, 40,337, 5,304
Fine, very hot and humid
Both of us had slept well, yesterday, fresh sliced bread was bought, what a treat. Tomatoes and onions were also purchased to make sandwiches with the smoked fish.
As said the asphalt started, a better description of the road would be gravel with some smooth patches. It was the worst kind of surface to ride on, as the meeting point of gravel and asphalt was a sharp step up or down. It was better in many instances just to ride on the gravel edges.
A few taxis were seen, lots of guys close to town on their Neelams and a few Turkana herders. We soon got into foothills. Here the country was like a mmonscape with a few trees. It was incredibly fry and rocky. No one was grazing animal out here. The heat saw to that. This crossing of the range went on fro a couple of hours. We then descended back onto the flats.
Bags of charcoal had been seen on the roadside in the hills where local had them out for sale.
The asphalt here in places was almost complete but did not stay that way fro long. More cyclists were seen carting enormous loads of wood on their bikes. This indicated we were getting close to town.
Pedro had arranged a warmshowers host in town so we met a friend of theirs at the local jicue bar on the way into town.
Before they arrived copius cold drinks were enjoyec and a chilled piece of watermelon. For the first time we saw powerlines in Kenya.
Even though Lodwar had more than 50,000 residents it is still only powered by a generator.
It was quite a ride out to Rhdas house outside of the main town. Earlier in the day we had met john her husband on the road. He was on hisy to do some missionary work up north on his Yamaha 175 trail bike .
At Rhodas place we set up the tents in her large clean sandy private yard.
She cooked us a great evening meal over charcoal. We both climbed into our tents.
We had made it to Lodwar during the short wet season of the year in Kenya. We had been incredibly lucky to make it from Omarate without being held up by rain. Had it come we could have been stuck there for days and even then struggle with wet muddy roads.
All this way a great relief.
25-30/4/2015 Lodwar, Nthn Kenya.
Africana Hotel
After two nights I moved to the Africana hotel, my back was still sore. I needed to be in a bed off the ground.
Lodwar is the capital of Turkana country. Many tribes people are seen in town wandering about buying things or just chatting on corners.
The town has a nice feel about it and people are very friendly. Most clothing I own was washed in the ample water available at the hotel.
My room is tiny but has a ceiling fanwhich is sheer luxury. Lodwar is in a rain shadow and only gets 250mm or so of rain a year. It is very hot and dusty.
Whilst here a stove was made from two Coke cans, it uses alcohol. It will get me to Nairobi I hope.
New parts have been ordered from Australia.
John Weir from The Mountain and Adventure Centre in Jindabyne has been such a huge help to me. If you need any high tech camping gear in Australia check these guys out on +61 2 6456 2922 or MountainAdventureCentre.com.au.
They are Hilleberg Tent dealers also.
Thanks again John.
The showers in the hotel are bucket versions where one has to fill a large plastic bowl with water, carry it to the showers. I use a water bottle cut in half to bail the water and pour it over myself.
I am quite used to this way of showering now. It is a great way to not waste water. I leave the shower every bit as clean as having had a shower with a tap that might use 50 to 100 litres.
We waste so much water at home.
Getting used to the unhygienic conditions here in Africa takes awhile to get used to.
Importantly for me, I am exposed to all manner of germs and bacteria and my health is great apart from the diarrhea that has now gone.
I now have the antibodies to fight most things that are found in these dirty places, which is important for long-term travel.
Central to this is drinking local water and not buying bottled water.
Firstly with the amount of water I drink it would send me broke and secondly if bottled water is drunk, everytime you drink local water there is a chance you may get sick.
“If the locals drink it, so do I”.
The road from here to Lokichar is more of the broken asphalt.
South of here the Pokot people are notorious for attacking vehicles heading to Kitale.
They attack trucks often shooting as they do it. Matt from Tullow told me one of his contractors got shot earlier in the week on this road.
Due to my back and the inherent risks from banditry on the road, a Landcriser has been booked to take me all the way to Kitale. For 2500 shillings, it is good value.
It is a dual cab with only four passengers, my bike will go in the tray at the rear.
Pedro has chosen to take an 8 seater, his bike will be stowed on the roof. It is 2000 shillings.
Again got is the main meat eaten here. Mangos are great value at 7c each, so many have been consumed.
Most restaurants use charcoal to cook on. A clothing iron using charcoal to heat it was seen on more than one occasion.
Acacia trees are the chosen species to make the charcoal which burns incredibly hot.
All through Egypt, Sudan and Ethiopia honey was used to sweeten my tea and other drinks. Here it is to expensive to use as a sweetener. So brown sugar is being used.
From here Pedro and I go our separate ways. He is heading to Uganda from Kitale and not going to Nairobi.
My two sons Ben and Callum, fly into Nairobi on the 22nd May.
Together we are going to ride to Cape Town over the next 6 or 7 months.
This is going to be a very special thing for us guys to be doing.
They are bringing over a heap of supplies for me.
A new rear wheel, new tent, replacement stove parts to mention just a few. It is so much easier than trying to source these things here.
Collecting water at Kalokol, the guys got 5 bob a 20L drum, they could carry 7 on their Neelam cycles
two wheeled workhorse, Kenyan made.
Dried and salted fish, many buyers come from the Congo to get these cheap fish from Lake Turkana, there are 5000 in a bundle.
Smoked fish, so nice and huge woks for frying the fish.
Another Neelam on the job, the tyres are solid rubber.
Leaving Kalikol.
Officially our last night together, it was such a good time having Pedro along in Ethiopia.
Nile Perch at my hotel Lodwar. They were very heavy and the guy couldn't find the shutter on my camera.
With the mango girls in Lodwar.
My new stove built from 2 coke cans.